The Mistake
by West Wind
Summary: After Trowa’s wedding, Catherine does something she regrets the next day. How will she handle it? (R - only because of the more adult theme of the story)


The Mistake   
By West Wind   


Rating: R only because of the more adult theme of the story.   
Pairing: 4xC   
Summary: After Trowa's wedding, Catherine does something she regrets the next day. How will she handle it?   
Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing characters.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
Catherine woke in a cocoon of warmth. She could feel two arms wrapped around her waist holding her close to another's body. She slowly opened her eyes. A smooth male chest filled her field of vision. She directed her gaze up as she tried to remember through her headache what had happened last night. She suppressed a grown as memories returned once she saw in whose arms she was in. 

He was very hansom and a nice guy. As they had worked together on Trowa's wedding, she had developed a small crush on him, but she should not have done what she had done last night. He had a girlfriend already, for crying out loud, and according to his girlfriend they were practically engaged. Regret settled into the bottom of Catherine's stomach. 

They had both had a bit to drink at Trowa's wedding reception. She had not drunk so much to be trashed but enough to obviously impair her judgment. They had danced a few dances and talked. He was an excellent companion for the evening. 

She was happy for Trowa, but the wedding reminded her that there was no one in her life. Loneliness and the longing to be lovingly caressed and held clamored in her. She wanted some one to love her. Therefore when they were standing in the elevator headed to their individual hotel rooms after the reception and he looked at her with his lovely caring eyes as he asked her something, she kissed him. She pulled him close and kissed him with all the conflicting emotions she was currently feeling, and he kissed back with as much enthusiasm as she had started it. They made their way down the hall and into his room where things began to heat up. 

Catherine looked at last night's lover and hoped he was too drunk to remember their nigh time activities. She slowly eased out of his embrace, found her cloths, redressed, and slipped from his room to her own. Once in the safety of her own room, Catherine turned on the water before stripping out of her cloths once more. She stepped into the tub and into the falling water. The warm liquid trickled down her body. She closed her eyes enjoying the warmth. 

"Why, why, why?" she questioned. "Why did I do that? Why didn't I stop to think what I was doing?" 

She had to admit that it was an experience of a lifetime. She found herself reviewing the evening's events. 

She cursed under her breath. Her train of thought was not making the situation better. It made her want to run back to his room and into his arms that gave her a since of security and forget all the complications attached to it - the people who would be hurt. 

"He is off limits, for crying out loud," she reminded herself of one of the rules she had always tried to live by - if a guy she found attractive were dating someone else, she would not go after him. "He is dating Sandra. What's she going to think when she finds out?" 

"Maybe he won't remember," she hoped. "What if he does?" she wondered. 

"Oh, Cathy, you should know better than to seduce him," she internally lamented as guilt coursed through her at her actions that started everything last night. 

"Just blow it off as a moment of weakness on both your parts," she told herself. "That is what it was, nothing more. He should go back to Sandra and you to…" 

"No one," she filled in for herself. 

She decided the best course of action for everyone involved was to pretend it never happened. The two of them just walk way and forget what happened between them. It would reduce the risk of her breaking up a relationship. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Catherine stood at the desk in the hotel lobby as she settled up the account for the wedding. The manager she had been speaking with had gone to check on something and she was waiting for his return. A set of hands covered her eyes. She stiffened fearful that it was he. 

"Guess who?" asked a deep male voice. 

Catherine laughed as she recognized the voice and turned to greet its owner. 

"Duo, you checking out?" she asked. 

"Yeah. Relena and I are headed home," he answered as he pulled his wife close. 

Relena smiled and greeted Catherine too. 

"I have some paperwork I have to get through before tomorrow," she said. 

"Heero," called Duo as he and Hilde emerged from the hotel restaurant. 

Duo and Relena drifted toward Heero and Hilde. Catherine turned back to the desk just as the manager returned. She finished her business with him and headed for her room. 

"Catherine!" a male voice called. 

Catherine forced her lips to form a smile to hide the stomach churning regret she felt at the sound of his voice. She prayed that he would not remember as she turned to face the man she had given her virginity to. 

"Quatre," she greeted as she turned. 

He smiled warmly at her as he neared. 

"I just finished settling up with the hotel," she said trying to act as if nothing had happened. 

He only nodded his head before changing the topic. 

"You left before I woke," he smoothly said. 

Catherine visibly stiffened at his words. 

"I thought it was best," she slowly stated as her mind whirled through what to say to him. 

Quatre started to say something but she cut him off. 

"Last night was an error of judgment on both our parts," she explained. "The wedding seemed to heighten the fact I have no one and my feelings of loneliness. Combine that with drinking enough to lower my inhibitions and it makes for poor decision making on my part," she hurriedly said. 

Tears began to pool in her eyes. Quatre moved as if to place a comforting hand on her, but she pulled away. He let his hand drop to his side at her obvious rejection. 

"What's Sandra going to say if she finds out," Catherine lamented. 

Quatre tried once again to say something but did not get farther than, "But, Catherine…" before being interrupted by the woman before him. 

"I'm sorry, Quatre. I used you in a moment of loneliness," she blathered before dashing away. 

Quatre was going to head off after her when the others caught sight of him and pulled him into their growing group. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Catherine closed her hotel room door behind her. She cursed herself and paced the room before deciding that lying down might ease her queasy stomach. She woke an hour later feeling revived with her nap. She proceeded to pack up to head home. She checked out at the hotel desk. She caught sight of the back of Quatre's blond head and took care to avoid him. 

She started loading her car. 

"Catherine, we have to talk," came Quatre's soft voice from behind her. 

"No, we don't," she briskly replied as she threw the last bag in the trunk with a thud. 

She slammed the trunk closed before turning to the perplexed blond. 

"What happened last night was a one time thing, a trip into fantasy land. Now we both have to return to our real lives and the people in them," she said before slipping into the car and driving away. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

It had been over a week since the wedding. Trowa and Jean would not be back for a few more days. Catherine continued on with her life as if nothing had changed, but that one night always seemed to be bobbing under the surface of her thoughts. 

She entered her home and observed she had a message. Thinking it was Trowa she hit play. 

"Catherine," started Quatre's voice. 

Catherine froze. 

"I understand you not wanting to talk about it, but I need to talk to you. I can't pretend that that night did not happen. Call me when you are ready to talk," he pleaded before leaving his number. 

Catherine found herself slipping to the floor and crying just at the sound of his voice. A part of her told her she was being way too emotional over this and to get a hold of herself. The other part wanted to crawl into Quatre's arms and cry on his shoulder. Both extremes scared her. The sudden outburst of tears was so unlike her yet she could not seem to control them. 

She sat there curled up for a good ten minutes before her tears subsided. She managed to get up and decided to go to bed early once she identified that her moodiness was due to her being tired. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

A few days later Catherine found Sandra standing at her door. Anxiety was immediate at the sight of Quatre's girlfriend, but she put on a smile of friendly greeting. 

"Sandra, what a surprise," voiced Catherine to the other woman. 

"May I come in," she happily chirped. 

"Sure," said Catherine while warning sirens went off in her head. 

"She knows, she knows, she knows…" chorused through her mind. 

"Have a seat," offered Catherine. "Can I get you something to drink?" 

"No thanks. I'm fine," Sandra said sweetly smiling. "I was hoping to catch Trowa and Jean while I was here and tell them my news." 

"They don't come back till tomorrow," Catherine supplied puzzled. 

Sandra and Quatre arraigned for Trowa and Jean's honeymoon. It was Quatre's gift to them. She should know when they were coming back. 

"That's what I was told when I asked about them," she slightly pouted but quickly turned all sugary sweet again. 

She was almost too sugary sweet in Catherine's opinion. Compared to Quatre being sweet, Sandra seemed like an artificial sweetener, appeared sweet but left a bitter taste in ones mouth. Catherine mentally punched herself for continuing to think of Quatre in such adoring terms. 

"I wanted to tell Trowa, but maybe you can tell him for me," she said while twisting the end of one strand of hair. "Quatre and I are engaged!" she announced as she flashed a large diamond ring under Catherine's nose. "We are not making it public knowledge yet but are telling a few close friends," she bubbled. 

Sandra bubbled on about how the wedding had made Quatre realize that he was ready for marriage and their weekend plans. Each statement felt like a knife being turned in Catherine's chest. 

Catherine saw Sandra out. As Sandra retreated, Catherine began to feel sick. Moments later, she was leaning over the toilet filling it with the breakfast she had eaten only hours before. She had done the same thing yesterday and wondered if she was coming down with the flu. 

She wandered back out to the main part of her home and tried to remember what she had been doing before Sandra showed up. The phone interrupted her pondering. She started to answer it but opted to let the machine get it. Once she heard Quatre's voice she was glad she had. 

"Catherine, I was hopping to catch you in, but obviously missed you." 

He paused briefly. 

"I still want to talk to you. I will be out of town for the rest of the week, but you can leave a message at the number I gave you earlier, and I will get back to you as soon as I can. You can also try at..." he left a second number. "Call me soon," he finished. 

Anger coursed through Catherine. 

"How dare he!" she almost screamed. "He probably wants to make sure I won't tell anyone of our little indiscretion," she growled. "Especially now that he is engaged. I wonder if he is planing on trying to buy my silence. It would serve him right if I told. Watch his good name be dragged through the mud," she laughed enjoying the notion for a moment. "What does he care for me? He has Sandra, and they are going on a romantic getaway this weekend," she started crying. "Why can't I find someone nice like Quatre?" she lamented missing the irony of her own thoughts.. 

She was fluctuating between hating him and moping over him. She was confused and unsure what to do. She wandered if she should call him, but decided against it. Why should she talk to him when it would probably only cause her to cry. She did not want to talk to him if she could not keep her composure. Maybe in a few weeks she would call him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Trowa and Jean returned, and Catherine was happy that they were back. After the first week, Jean approached Catherine concerned. 

"Are you feeling alright?" Jean asked as she came up to Catherine. "You have not been looking to good since we got back, and Trowa and I are worried." 

"I've been slightly under the weather," Catherine answered. 

"Have you seen a doctor?" Jean queried. 

"No," said Catherine. "I just thought it might go away on its own. It is just an upset stomach and me being tired a lot. Other than that I feel fine," she explained trying to shrug it off. 

"For how long?" pressed Jean concerned. 

"A few weeks," she offered as they passed the food stands preparing for the evening crowd. 

The sugary sweet smell of the cotton candy they were creating made her feel ill. She dashed from Jean's side. She did not make it far before she could no longer hold the contents of her stomach down. Jean came alongside Catherine's bent over retching form. 

"Come on," offered Jean with arms around Catherine after she finished. 

Once they were safely in Catherine's home, Jean turned a critical eye on Catherine. 

"Is there a possibility that you might be pregnant?" Jean asked the one possibility that Catherine had been avoiding to consider. 

Catherine looked down and slowly nodded. 

"Well, first things first," said Jean. "We are going out and buying a home pregnancy kit." 

That is exactly what they did. Catherine played with the sheet of instructions that came with the kit while they waited. When the time was up, Catherine hesitantly went to read the test. It was positive. She was pregnant. She let out a soft grown. 

"We now know the cause of your tiredness, queasiness, and irritability," Jean pointed out. 

"I have not been irritable," snapped Catherine. 

"No, you have not been snapping at people lately," said Jean sarcastically. "You didn't yell at Jim for not putting the lion's food in the correct end of the pen," she raised an eyebrow. 

Catherine blushed. 

"I guess I have been provoked easily lately," she admitted. 

"I'd say," laughed Jean. "So who's the father?" she asked. 

"Just some guy," Catherine shrugged. 

"Just some guy? You create a baby with this man and he is just some guy. Do you even know his name?" she asked but quickly regretted her flippancy. 

Catherine looked down hurt. 

"I know his name," she said in a sullen voice. "It is just not important. It was a one-time thing. I doubt I will see him again anyway." 

Well, she would not see him again if she could help it. Catherine turned to look out the window. 

"You want to talk about it?" asked Jean concerned about Catherine. 

"No," replied Catherine, "I don't. It happened and there is nothing that will change it. Now I must live with the consequences," she sighed. 

"Are you even going to tell him?" prompted Jean. 

"No," said Catherine with determined coolness. "He has his life to live, and I have mine. 

Catherine's fringed attitude forestalled Jean from trying to get anything more out of the expectant mother. 

"You know Trowa and I will do anything to help," Jean said switching topics. 

"Thanks," Catherine murmured before she realized she would have to tell Trowa. "When should I tell Trowa?" Catherine pondered. 

"Come over for dinner tonight," offered Jean, "and tell him then. 

Catherine nodded. She might as well do it sooner than latter. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The three of them were enjoying their dinner as Catherine gathered her courage to bring up the topic of her pregnancy. 

"I'm pregnant," she casually said between bites. 

Trowa's green eyes locked on her. 

"How?" was the only word he spoke without looking away from her. 

"If you don't know that then you should talk to your wife," retorted Catherine as she found herself becoming defensive for no good reason. 

"When, what were the circumstances, and with whom did this happen?" he re-asked. 

"We both consented to the act if that is what you are worried about," she bristled. 

Catherine tried to force down her growing annoyance. 

"But, thanks for being concerned," she smiled at him. 

"So when do we get to meet the father?" Trowa asked still not appeased. 

"You don't," Catherine stated and watched anger flash in Trowa's eyes. 

Catherine and Jean could guess what was going through Trowa's mind. He though that some guy got Catherine pregnant and abandoned her when he found out. Catherine knew Trowa would not take action until he gathered all the facts. 

"It was a one time thing, and afterwards we went our separate ways," Catherine explained. "I have not talked to him since the day after." 

"So he does not know you carry his child," Trowa stated. "Are you going to tell him?" 

"No," Catherine stated. "It is best if he does not know." 

"Why?" asked Jean. "It is his child too. He might want a part in the child's life." 

"I'm sure he will have children by his future wife soon enough," Catherine sniffled before she broke down into tears. 

She cursed her extreme mood swings. Jean moved to Catherine's side of the table and placed an arm around her. 

"You are in love with him," whispered Jean. 

"I like him. He is a nice guy, but I'm not in love with him," Catherine assured as she whipped away tears. "I am just being emotional," she used as an excuse. "I knew he was seeing someone else before I had sex with him." 

"Then why did you…?" asked Jean. 

"I was not in the most stable mental state when I did it," Catherine smiled. "We were alone together and things just happened," she shrugged. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"Do you think it was some one at our wedding?" Jean asked Trowa as they settled into bed for the night. "From what the doctor said the timing would be about right." 

"I was thinking the same thing," said Trowa. "The first time she flat out refused to tell us anything about the father was when I asked if we knew him. My guess is we do." 

"Yeah," murmured Jean. "I don't think she would be so closed mouth about it if we didn't. At first I thought it might be some one at the circus," Jean suggested as she snuggled closer to her husband, "but I don't think it is. It's been two weeks since it became public knowledge. Surly the father would come forward once he heard." 

Trowa shrugged. 

"Maybe, maybe not," he said while wrapping his arms around her, "but I think your first guess is the more probable scenario." 

"Which of our friends do you think it was?" she asked. 

"I am unsure, without more to go on. The ones that immediately come to mind don't fit what she already told us. Duo is already married. Heero and Hilde have been engaged for months. And, neither Wufei nor Quatre has become engaged recently. Most everyone else there was from the circus," he sighed. 

"Maybe she will let more slip as time goes on," Jean pondered. 

With that the couple put the puzzle aside for the time being and drifted off to sleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Quatre wandered around the tents looking for his friends or Catherine. It had been a few months, and she still had not returned his calls. He could not wait for her to call him back any longer; he had to talk to her face to face if he could keep her from running off. He knew he would have to pick his moment and words carefully since she refused to work this out. 

"Quatre," Jean called to get his attention. 

He turned and smiled as he walked in her direction. He waved at Trowa as he joined his wife from another direction. The three people exchanged greetings. 

"You didn't tell us you were coming," pointed out Jean. 

"I wanted it to be a surprise," said Quatre with a warm smile just before he caught sight of Catherine emerging from a tent beside them 

She looked absolutely stunning, almost radiant. 

"Catherine," called Jean. "Look who dropped by for a visit." 

Quatre saw the look of shock and dread that she quickly hid behind a noncommittal smile. Jean pulled Catherine into their group. 

"Catherine," Quatre said in neutral greeting with a nod of his head. 

He had hoped for a warmer greeting from her but was not surprised. He now had to find a way to talk to her alone without raising questions. 

They moved toward Trowa and Jean's place conversing. Something in the conversation did not agree with Catherine. She threw some biting words at them before stormed away from the small group. Quatre watched puzzled as she left. 

"Hopefully in six months her emotional roller coaster will smooth out, but then there is the whole hormone thing afterwards to deal with. With our luck she will be just as volatile after the baby is born," Jean sighed. 

"Catherine's pregnant," gasped Quatre. 

Trowa and his wife nodded. 

"Do you know who the father is?" he asked as if it was of vital importance to him. 

"No," said Trowa. 

"Only Catherine knows. She just says it was a one time thing and won't tell us who he is," Jean added. 

"She is three months along," he murmured. 

His eyes widened as his calculations seemed to verify his suspicion. Without a word to the other two he took off in the direction Catherine had disappeared in. 

Trowa and Jean looked at each other bewildered at first. 

"I think we now know who the father is," Trowa said. 

Jean had to agree with his assessment for there was no other obvious reason for their usually polite friend to take off like that. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"Catherine," called Quatre as he searched for her. "Catherine. Have you seen Catherine?" he asked those he came across. 

He finally found someone who directed him to one of the smaller tents. He pulled back the flap and let it fall behind him cutting off the main source of light. 

"Catherine are you in here?" he gently asked as his eyes adjusted to the dimness. 

There was no response. 

"Catherine?" he called as he glanced around at the stacks of crates and trunks in the tent. 

A soft sniffle drifted through the air and he urgently looked for the source. In the shadow of some boxes he notices a hunched figure. He cautiously approached. 

"Cathy?" 

"Go away, Quatre," she said. 

"We have to talk," he tenderly persuaded. 

"No we don't," she spit out. 

Quatre was now standing before her and squatted down to be at eye level with her. 

"I'm the father, aren't I," he whispered. 

There was no response. 

"Catherine?" he gently cooed as he placed a hand on her shoulder. 

"So what if you are," she hissed as she brushed his hand away. "It could have been any of a number of guys I screwed that week," she spit the words like venom. 

What little light there was reflected off the moisture in her eyes. 

"There were no other guys," Quatre confidently whispered. 

"How do you know!" she demanded as she sprang to her feet. 

Quatre stood as she did. He was not going to let her out until they hashed this mess out. He should have done it the day after, but the hotel lobby did not seam like the appropriate place to force an issue she refused to talk about. He could have visited sooner, but he was hoping she would return one of his calls on her own initiative and work always seemed to get in the way. 

"You weren't there! " she continued to rant as her inner turmoil and changing hormone levels made her slightly irrational. "Why should you care! You have Sandra. I am sure she would not appreciate her fiancé having a child by another woman, or would you just pay me off so no one learns of your one night indulgence. I'm just a soiled play thing that you toss aside." 

Her words were biting and they felt like shards of glass in Quatre's heart. She made him sound so callous and made herself sound so cheep. 

"I broke up with Sandra two days before the wedding," he informed her as he moved closer to her fidgeting form. 

Her eyes flashed with indignation and Quatre prepared for another outburst. 

"Then I was just the rebound girl," she angrily said as she through her arms out at the side. "Some one to fill your lonely heart." 

"That is what you admitted to doing," he pointed out. 

He watched, as she seemed to deflate. As her anger that gave her strength faded away, she seemed to crumble. Quatre closed the distance between them and pulled her into a tight embrace. She half-heartedly struggled to get out of his hold. She pounded on his chest with her fist as she hoarsely ordered him to let go of her before she was over come by tears and sobs. 

He held her close while she let her emotional whirlwind dissipate with each sob. She was soon clinging to his shirt with her face buried into his chest as if he was her anchor. He rested his cheek against the crown of her head and waited for the sobs to turn to soft whimpers. 

"For as long as you have known me, have you ever known me to be so heartless or do you think I would treat you in such a insensitive manner?" he asked. 

"No," she squeaked out. "Oh, Quatre, I'm sorry," she added as she started to cry once more. "I… I… I…" she tried to speak through her tear induced hiccups. "I am being irrational." 

"Shhh… it's my turn to talk," he cooed as he stroked her hair. 

She said no more and waited for him to continue. 

"Cathy, you are wrong. You jumped to the wrong conclusions since the day after the wedding and you have not even given me a chance to straiten it out. You have shut me out every time I come near. 

"As I remember, we both had an active part in that night, and I don't regret a moment of it. Your were my first," he admitted. 

Catherine looked up at him, and Quatre loosened his hold on her so he could lean back to see her amazed expression. 

"The way Sandra talked when I first met her, you two had…" Catherine trailed off. 

"Well, Sandra said a lot of misleading things," Quatre said slightly disgusted. "That is part of why I broke up with her." 

"Oh," breathed Catherine. 

"I had known for a while that it was not working out between us but thought I would give it a bit longer incase I was wrong. I wasn't and after a few heated words a few days before the wedding I severed the relationship." 

Quatre skipped over the part where Sandra accused him of drooling over the Bloom hussy and demanded he get his priorities straight. Catherine was below him and not worth his attention. Sandra was showing her true colors. Quatre would not be surprised if she has the tong of a snake to go with her cold-blooded personality. Then and there Quatre kicked Sandra out of his life forever. 

"But she stopped by the following week telling me of your secret engagement," Catherine sniffled. 

"I should have known," growled Quatre. "That's why you would not return my calls," he surmised. 

She nodded. 

"I already felt guilty for sleeping with you when you were only dating her. There was no way I could see you when I knew you were engaged. I feared that if I let you in, I would always be the other woman, always on the outskirts of your life, and always on the edge of heartache. I could not do that, especially when I have a child on the way to look after. Your child," she admitted after a slight pause. 

His smile beamed at her admission. 

"Will you give your baby's father a chance to get to know his child and spend time with his or her mother?" Quatre asked. 

"First I want to know, why did you have sex with me and not your girlfriend of close to a year?" she asked. 

"I made** love **to you because I am in love with you not Sandra," he answered. "I never felt for Sandra the way I feel for you. You were the final reasons I broke up with her," he admitted. 

Catherine was speechless at first. 

"I guess you deserve a chance to get to know your child," she said. 

"What about the mother?" asked Quatre as he tightens his embrace around her and gave her a kiss. "Do you think she would be willing to go out with me?" 

"I think that can be arranged," smiled Catherine. 

"Good. How about dinner tonight?" he asked followed by another kiss. 

She slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer while deepening the kiss. 

"I take that as a yes," he smiled at her as he caught his breath. 

"You guessed right," she smirked. 

Quatre pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her tear stained face. 

"Trowa and Jean are probably wondering what happened to us," Quatre pointed out. 

"I guess we should tell them. They have wanted to know who the father was since they found out I was pregnant. Jean wanted to know out of curiosity, and Trowa wanted to know to have a talk with him. You know how talkative he is." 

"Oh," paled Quatre slightly. 

"Don't worry, I think he is over that," Catherine reassured as she took his hand in hers. 

They exited the tent hand in hand to find Trowa and Jean across the way waiting for them to come out. 

"So are you the father?" Trowa asked. 

"Yes," Quatre happily admitted with a grin stretched across his face. 

"Come tell us what happened," said Jean as she placed an arm around Catherine and guided the pair someplace more comfortable to talk. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

After that Quatre visited often, to no ones surprise. Amazingly Catherine's mood swings lessened in their volatility, especially when Quatre was there. He was a soothing influence on her, and she always seemed to brighten more in his presence. There was no doubt in the mind of anyone who saw them together that they were meant for each other. 

"Push!" called the doctor. 

Catherine gave one final push. The sound of a baby's cry filled the air after the doctor smacked it. 

"It's a girl," announced the doctor. 

Catherine leaned back in exhaustion. Quatre brushed her sweaty bangs out of her eyes and kissed her forehead while reassuringly squeezing her hand. She smiled up at him. The doctor showed them their child before handing her to the nurses to clean up. Catherine felt exhausted by the time she was wheeled into her room and soon fell asleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Several hours later she stirred as Quatre entered the room with a bouquet of flowers he placed beside her bed and a plush bear. 

"For our little one," he smiled lifting the bear. 

"Our little one," sighed Catherine contently before Quatre placed a kiss on the top of her head. 

"How are you feeling?" he asked. 

"Tired, but good," she said. 

Quatre sat down beside the bed and took her hand in his. He lovingly ran the pad of his thumb over the captured hand. He lifted her hand and started placing soft kisses on her fingers. Catherine giggled at his gesture of affection. 

"Catherine," he said looking intently into her blue-gray eyes, "will you marry me?" 

She knew her answer immediately. She had for the last few months. 

"Yes, love," she whispered. 

Quatre leaned close for a kiss, before a nurse came in with their baby. 

"Feeding time," the nurse said after clearing her throat to announce her presence to the kissing couple. 

Quatre pulled back smiling while Catherine chuckled. Their daughter was then placed into her arms and all Catherine thought was what a beautiful child they had created. She was sure all of their children would be beautiful. How could they not with Quatre as the father. 

"What are you thinking?" he asked. 

"I think all our children will be beautiful," she revealed. 

"They will with such a beautiful mother," he mischievously winked. 

Catherine could not help but blush at his doting comment. At times he was too good to be true. 

~ The End ~ 


End file.
